U.S. patent number 6,810,933 [Application Number 10/247,445] was granted by the patent office on 2004-11-02 for crafter's purse.
Invention is credited to Michael L. Gordon, Terri L. Gordon.
United States Patent |
6,810,933 |
Gordon , et al. |
November 2, 2004 |
Crafter's purse
Abstract
A crafter's purse is adapted for the storage, display,
accessing, and carrying of crafter's tools. The crafter's purse has
a generally rectangular bottom panel and an upright peripheral
panel extending about the periphery of the bottom panel for forming
a container having an open end. At least one exterior panel is
attached to the exterior surface of the peripheral panel to form a
plurality of exterior pockets for containing and displaying
additional items. The crafter's purse has a pair of handles for
carrying the crafter's purse and an elastic band which encircles
the peripheral wall at a position above the pocket openings to
secure the items contained in the pockets. At least one additional
pocket may be attached to the interior surface of the peripheral
wall for forming an internal pocket.
Inventors: |
Gordon; Terri L. (Mount Dora,
FL), Gordon; Michael L. (Mount Dora, FL) |
Family
ID: |
31992496 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/247,445 |
Filed: |
September 20, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
150/112; 150/107;
383/28; 383/29 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45C
13/02 (20130101); A45C 11/24 (20130101); A45C
5/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A45C
11/00 (20060101); A45C 11/24 (20060101); A45C
13/00 (20060101); A45C 13/02 (20060101); A45C
5/00 (20060101); A45C 001/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;383/71,42,43,78,93,8,11,13,15,28,29
;150/112,113,118,124,107,110,103,104 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Mai; Tri M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Litman; Richard C.
Claims
We claim:
1. A purse for storing, displaying, accessing and carrying craft
tools, comprising: a generally rectangular bottom panel; an upright
peripheral panel extending about the periphery of said bottom
panel, said peripheral panel defining a pair of opposing side walls
which extend between and connect a pair of opposing end walls, said
side walls and said end walls having a top portion, an exterior
surface, and an interior surface; a first pair of hook-and-loop
fastening patches attached to the interior surface of said opposing
side walls; a detachable fastening strap, said strap having
opposing ends the opposing ends having a second pair of
hook-and-loop fastening patches affixed thereto, said second pair
of hook-and-loop fastening patches mating with said first pair of
hook-and-loop fastening patches in order to detachably attach said
strap to said opposing side walls; a handle attached to the top
portion of each of said opposing side walls; a pair of interior
pockets fixedly attached to the interior surface of said side
walls, each of said interior pockets formed as an envelop enclosure
and having a zippered flap for securing items contained therein; an
exterior panel attached to the exterior surface of each said end
wall and each said side wall for forming a plurality of exterior
pockets on each of said side walls and at least one pocket on each
of said end walls, said exterior pockets having a mouth portion
facing said top portion; and an elastic fastening band, said
elastic fastening band attached to an exterior of said peripheral
panel above said mouth portion for securing items contained in each
exterior pocket; wherein said bottom panel and said peripheral
panel together form a container having an interior compartment area
for storing tools of a crafter; and said bottom panel supports the
purse on a horizontal support surface.
2. The purse, for storing, displaying, accessing and carrying craft
tools, of claim 1, wherein said side walls and said end walls are
integrally connected.
3. The purse, for storing, displaying, accessing and carrying craft
tools, of claim 1, wherein said purse is made from fabric.
4. The purse, for storing, displaying, accessing and carrying craft
tools, of claim 3, wherein said fabric is canvas.
5. The purse, for storing, displaying, accessing and carrying craft
tools, of claim 1, wherein said exterior panel attached to each
said side wall includes three exterior pockets and the exterior
panel attached to each said end wall includes one exterior pocket.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a crafter's purse, and
particularly to a crafter's purse providing a tote bag adapted for
storage, display, accessing, and carrying of crafter's tools.
2. Description of the Related Art
Crafter's tools are typically stored in tool bags or purses to
facilitate transportation of the tools to a desired location.
However, a conventional crafter's tote bag is not effective in
keeping the tools segregated, as it allows the tools to freely
intermingle in the tote bag. Many times, the entire contents of the
bag must be removed from the bag to be displayed in a manner which
would facilitate selecting and retrieving the desired tools. After
an activity is completed, the tools must be gathered and packed in
the bag. Consequently, the procedure of selecting a desired tool
from a conventional crafter's tote bag can become difficult and
time consuming.
Various tool bags have attempted to remedy the problems associated
with conventional bags by providing fold-out individual storage
compartments, such as pockets or pouches on an interior wall.
Generally, however, these bags do not provide adequate display of
the items contained therein, as the pockets are positioned inside
the bag. Other bags have storage compartments on an exterior
surface which allow the tools to be displayed, however, they fail
to prevent the tools from falling out of the pockets or enclosures.
Conventional bags also lack a rigid support at their base to
support the structure of the bag on a horizontal support
surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,337, issued Aug. 5, 1997 to C. Cirigliano,
describes a reversible tote bag of foldable construction for
containing workmen's tools having a reversible folding wall with a
reversible closure adapted to be changeable into multiple positions
for ease of use and access. A unitary container panel is closable
to form a tote bag, openable to allow access thereto and reversible
permitting the tote bag to be turned inside out.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,902, issued Jul. 11, 2000 to L. Fang, describes
a tote bag which can alternatively be used in connection with an
empty container, such as a five-gallon bucket, for the transport
and storage of larger articles. The inner and outer skirt-like
walls of the apparatus are provided with pockets which are adapted
to receive and organize hand tools. Zipper mechanisms interconnect
the lower margins of the outer skirt-like walls to convert the
apparatus from a bucket organizer into a tote bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,445, issued Sep. 29, 1998 to L. Christman,
describes a bingo tote bag having interior and exterior
compartments. The interior space of the bingo tote bag is large
enough for carrying additional items.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in
combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
Thus a crafter's purse solving the aforementioned problems is
desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A crafter's purse is adapted for the storage, display, accessing,
and carrying of crafter's tools. The crafter's purse has a
generally rectangular bottom panel and an upright peripheral panel
extending about the periphery of the bottom panel for forming a
container having an open end. The bottom panel is capable of
supporting the structure of the bag on a horizontal support
surface. The peripheral panel includes a pair of opposing, parallel
side walls which extend between and connect opposing, parallel end
walls. A detachable fastening strap extends across the open end and
attaches to opposing side walls at either end to secure items
contained within the crafter's purse. An exterior panel is attached
to the exterior surface of each side wall and each end wall to form
a plurality of exterior pockets for containing and displaying
additional items. Also attached to opposing side walls are a pair
of handles for carrying the crafter's purse. An elastic band
encircles the peripheral wall at a position above the pocket
openings to secure the items contained in the pockets. At least one
additional pocket may be attached to the interior surface of the
peripheral wall for forming an internal pocket.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a
crafter's purse in which crafter's tools may be stored.
It is another object of the invention to provide a crafter's purse
in which crafter's tools may be transported.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a crafter's
purse in which crafter's tools may be displayed.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a crafter's
purse which allows tools contained therein to remain segregated and
secured to the purse.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and
arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is
inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its
intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become
readily apparent upon further review of the following specification
and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a crafter's purse
according to the present invention with tools contained
therein.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a crafter's purse according to the
present invention exploded to show the with detachable strap
unattached.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a crafter's purse according to the
present invention with the detachable strap attached.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features
consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention relates to a crafter's purse, designated
generally as 10 in the drawings. As can be seen in FIGS. 1-3, the
crafter's purse has a generally rectangular bottom panel 11 and an
upright peripheral panel 12 extending about the periphery of the
bottom panel 11. The peripheral panel 12 has a top portion 14, a
bottom portion 16, an exterior surface 18, and an interior surface
20. As can be seen more clearly in FIGS. 2-3, the bottom panel 11
in combination with the peripheral panel 12 form a container or bag
having one open end 28 at the top portion 14 and having an interior
compartment area 26 for storing items such as crafter's tools.
Preferably, the bottom panel 11 is doubly layered, or comprises a
double layer of the material from which the purse 10 is made, in
order to support the structure of the purse 10 on a horizontal
support surface. The crafter's purse 10 is constructed from fabric,
vinyl, leather, or other suitable material, having the components
attached together by sewing, double stitching, adhesively or by any
other suitable manner. Preferably the crafter's purse 10 is made
from canvas and the component parts are stitched together.
As depicted in FIGS. 2-3, the peripheral panel 12 is defined by a
pair of opposing, parallel side walls 22 which extend between and
connect opposing, parallel end walls 24. The bottom panel, the side
walls and the end walls may be integrally formed or formed from
separate pieces. A patch of hook-and-loop fastening material 30 is
attached to the interior surface 20 of the opposing side walls 22
at corresponding positions. The respective mating patches 35 for
each patch 30 of hook and loop fastening material are affixed to
opposing ends 34 of a detachable fastening strap 32. The detachable
fastening strap 32 extends across the open end 28 and attaches at
its opposing ends 34 to the patches 30 of hook-and-loop fastening
material affixed to the side walls 22. A handle 36 is attached on
the interior surface 20 of each opposing side wall 22 at
corresponding positions of the top portion 14.
An exterior end panel 38 and an exterior side panel 40 are attached
to the exterior surface 18 of each end wall 24 and each side wall
22 respectively at attachment points 42 for forming exterior
pockets 44. Preferably, the exterior end panel 38 and side panels
40 are stitched to the peripheral wall 12 only partially around
their peripheries to form a mouth portion 45 facing the top portion
14 of the peripheral panel 12. Each exterior side panel 40 is then
stitched intermittently and in spaced apart relation to the side
wall at additional attachment points 42 to form additional exterior
pockets 44 on both side walls 22 of the crafter's purse 10.
Preferably, three exterior pockets 44 are formed on each side wall
22. The exterior end panel 38 and the exterior side panels 40 can
be integrally formed or formed from separate pieces.
A fastening band 46 made from an elastic fabric or any other
suitable, resilient material encircles the peripheral panel at
position above the mouth portion 45 of each exterior pocket 44 to
further secure items contained in each exterior pocket 44. The band
46 is stitched or otherwise attached to the end panels 38 and side
panels 40 in a spaced apart fashion, corresponding with attachment
points 42.
An interior pocket 50 may be formed by attaching together two
separate pieces of fabric or other material such that an envelope
enclosure is formed having a flap 52. One interior pocket 50 is
then attached to the interior surface 20 of one or both side walls
22. The flap 52 may be secured by a conventional zipper apparatus
54, or any other suitable fastening means.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to
the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all
embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
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